If you love sweet wines like Moscato but want to try something new…
I found two sweet German wines from Trader Joe’s for you to try. I tasted a sweet red wine and a sweet white wine that you can serve with just about anything and both are under $6!
First here is a little info about German wines, you need to know how to read the label. Some of the sweet German wines don’t say “sweet” or “semi-dry” so you could easily by-pass a wine you are looking for. Here is a quick cheat sheet for finding sweet or dry German wines.
If the wine label says:
- Kabinett – Usually the driest, light and refreshing and you can pair it with aperitifs.
- Spatlese – Medium sweet.
- Auslese – Sweet.
- Beerenauslesse – rare sweet.
- Eiswein – very sweet dessert wine.
- Trockenbeerenauislese – very rare, very sweet.
The first wine I tried was Dr. Beckermann Rheinhessen Auslese, a white wine for $5.49. If you like Moscato you will love, love, love this wine, full of fruity sweetness with a bit of sparkle, to me it’s like taking Moscato up a notch. I’m not sure what grapes are used in this wine because the bottle doesn’t say. But because it’s a German wine I’m guessing Riesling grapes because of the awesome flavor, and Germany is known for its Riesling grapes. The bottle says this wine would pair well with fish, salty cheeses, Asian cuisine, but I would also pair it with chicken, turkey and ham. Yes ham, I think the sweetness of this wine would be a really nice contrast to the saltiness of the ham. The more spicy or sweet your dish is the better.
Most of the sweet wine drinkers I know avoid red wine like the plague. They wrinkle their noses when I mention red wine and will only consider a sweet dessert wine. I know how difficult it is to find a sweet red other than a red Moscato to drink with a meal. I think you will really enjoy Josph Handler Sweet red, Rheinnessen 2013 Germany wine for $5.99. It’s made from Germany’s native Dornfelder grape and combines luscious flavors of juicy ripe raspberries and plums. It is a light wine with smooth tannins that help balance the sweetness but doesn’t taste bitter. Moscato drinkers will love this. If you are a Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon drinker be warned you will not like this wine. This is not a full-bodied wine, but if you are in the mood for a light, sweet wine give this one a try.
For those of you following my diet progress, I lost another pound and I’m still drinking wine and counting my carbs. My husband Mike made me the most wonderful dinner last night. A hamburger (no bun) topped with caramelized peppers and onions finished in a port wine reduction, and carrots, zucchini and olives topped with mozzarella. Yum.
I have to share another benefit of this low carb diet I’m on. I have suffered with hot flashes every day for the last three years. For the last four days I have not had a single hot flash! The only thing that I’ve changed is my diet and I have more energy now than ever. Plus I no longer have cravings for sweets. If you are interested in losing weight without hunger you should read the book, Why we get fat and what to do about it by Gary Taubes. If you are interested in a low carb diet you can review info on the Atkins website.
Cheers – Carrie
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